Reduce Holiday Costs with LED Lighting

    The holiday season is here and outdoor decorative lights are going up each day.  Consumers have choices when it comes to purchasing strands of lights, such as which type of bulb to buy.  Cuivre River Electric Cooperative asks consumers to keep energy use and safety in mind when they make their decisions.
    Many people have questions about LED (light-emitting diode) holiday lights which hit the market several years ago. They are fast becoming a new favorite which uses significantly less energy than traditional holiday lights, and therefore costs less to operate.
    According to General Electric, serious outdoor home decorators will use holiday lights about six hours per day for up to two months — that's 360 hours for the season, and a lot of potential kilowatt-hour (kwh) use.
    When you compare the energy used by a strand of 100 standard lights (40.8 watts) with its LED counterpart (6.48 watts), you can save about $1 per strand with LEDs.
    If you like the old-fashioned outdoor look of the C-9 bulbs, LEDs can save you $10 per strand, up to $150 for 15 strands during one holiday season.
    LEDs have two key additional advantages: convenience and longevity.
    Convenience: Since LEDs have much lower cumulative wattage, they generate less heat. More strands can be connected together and served by one electrical outlet.  All styles and sizes of GE brand LEDs list the ability to connect up to 25 strands. Generally just two to five strands of standard bulbs can be connected, due to wattage limitations and higher operating temperatures.
    Longevity: LEDs list an average bulb life of 20,000 hours and a 5-year guarantee. Standard holiday lights have an average life of less than 2,000 hours, and a one or two-year guarantee.
    Disadvantages to LEDs include slightly higher purchase costs, the availability of replacement bulbs, and strand length.  Some LED strands may be slightly shorter or contain fewer lights than their counterparts.
    However, since the LEDs are more energy efficient and may last up to 10 times longer than traditional lights, their higher up-front cost can usually be offset by savings in one holiday season.
    As with any holiday lights, Cuivre River cautions you to follow the manufacturer's instructions, which address safety as well as energy efficiency and bulb life.
    Here are some important holiday lighting safety tips:
•    Indoors or outside, use only lights that have been safety tested by a recognized laboratory such as UL.
•    Use strands that contain plugs with fuses.
•    Check each strand of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed of bare wires, or loose connections. Throw out damaged sets.
•    If using an extension cord, make sure it is rated for the intended use.
•    Connect no more than the manufacturer's recommended number of strands.
•    Turn off tree lights and other decorations when you go to bed or leave home.
•    Plug outdoor lights and decorations into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI).
•    Never leave holiday lights outside year-round. The wiring and plastic can break down over time.
    For more information about holiday energy use and safety, contact a Cuivre River Electric Cooperative Member Services Representative at 636.528.8261, 636.695.4700 or 800.392.3709, ext. 272, 233, 334, 4732 or 4733.